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2 SheetsSheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. GUASTAVINO. GONSTRUGTION 0F BUILDINGS.

No. 464,562. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

m M a WITNEEEEE n12 NORIUS runs 00., FMDTO-L$THO., WASHINGTON, n. c,

Q Modem 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

R. GUASTAVINO. CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS.

No. 464,562. Patented Dec. 8, 1891;

avg/Imam L WITNESEEEI INVENTDR:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAFAEL GUASTAVINO, OF NEW YORK, N; Y., ASSIGNOR- TO THE G UAS TAVINOFIRE-PROOF CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,562, dated December8, 1891.

Application filed August 4, 1890. Serial No. 360,887. (No model) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RAFAEL GUASTAVINO, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Buildings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction [0 of vaults or archesforceilings, staircases, &c.,

of buildings of various descriptions.

The object of the invention is to dispense with the cumbersome and heavytemporary wooden centers now commonly made use of in erecting arches orvaults and to employ instead a small light wooden frame constantlyshifted during the prosecution of the work and erecting by means of thesame an arch with joints made of such material as will cause such archto quickly and permanently assume its final shape, thereby permittingsuch arch being used almost without delay as a solid center forthecourses of the arch'to be laid above it and permitting of the immediate2 5 removal of the Wooden frame and of its use in another part of thestructure, thus not only greatly reducing the cost due to the employmentof the heavy wooden centers now necessary in'the construction of abuilding, but also permitting the finishing and embellishing of the faceof the arch almost immediately after the tiles forming the same havebeen put in place.

A further object is to produce a vault or arch of minimum cost, whichshall combine great strength and solidity. Arches of brick, cement, orconcrete are generally built over wooden centers. hen common limemortars were used in such constructions,the great thickness of the archrequired the use of centers also of great thickness and strength, sothat the arch and center corresponded to each other inthis respect, andon account of the large amount of the material and the time 5 allowedthe slow setting of the common lime mortars did not affect the solidityof the arch. Under these methods such heavy wooden centers had to remainin position for a long time. Hence in order to expedite the constructionof the building a large number of such centers had to be provided, thusmaterially adding to the cost of construction, and besides occupying thespace required to be un obstructed while the final finishing and decorating of the face of the arch or vault is being 5 done. Under the rapidmethods of construction of to-day, with the use of quick-setting cementand its great strength, the arches are made lighterand of less thicknessthan under the old plan. The fact that cement is more .60 costly thancommon mortar and is quicker to set makes it important, as well asdesirable, to employ less material in the arch,and thus reduce thethickness of the structure. Hence the importance of exercising greatcare in se lecting the centers over which the arches are built in orderto insure that absolute repose to the cement which is necessary topermit it to properly set. The old system employing cumbersome heavywooden centers does not pos- 7o sess the condition of that absoluterepose and solidity that the cement requires for perfect setting. It istherefore obvious that the best character of work cannot be looked forunder modern methods of building arches and vaults 7 5 when Wood is madeuse of for centers which are required to remain in position until theslow-setting common lime mortar or the cem ent forming the joints of thearch has become hardened and absolutely reliable, such wood being'apt tomeantime shrink and split. The great inconvenience and danger involvedin the continued use of wooden centers while the mortar or cement issetting are shown by the numerous accidents occurringin the erecting ofconcrete, cement, and brick arches. Then these Wooden centers areremoved, at least fiftyperv cent. of the arches are imperfect and manyfall, and this is due not to the poor quality of the material, but tochanges tak- 9o ing place in the wooden centers while the setting of thebinding material takes place. I overcome the above objections byproviding a permanent, unchangeable, and solid center for the uppercourses of the arch or vault 5 with the aid of light wooden fragiesmoved constantly during the prosecution of the work and serving to giveshape to the said permanent center.

In the accompanying drawings, which form I00 a part of this description,and in which like parts are indicated by like figures of referonce inthe several views, Figure 1 is a transverse section of a permanent solidcenter built of tiles in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is asimilar view of a floor-arch of tiles and concrete built over mypermanent center. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a floor-arch ofcommon bricks built over my permanent center. Fig. 4 is a similar viewof a brick arch of the usual type of construction. Fig. 5 is a view inperspective of an ordinary building-brick, eight by four and two inchesthick, used in the construction of the four-foot span of Fig. a; andFig. 6 is a simi-.

lar view of one of the tiles used by me in erecting permanent centersaccording to my invention, the dimensions of which tiles are twelve bysix and one inch thick.

The usual way of building a common brick arch by laying the bricks 7 ontheir edges is shown in Fig. 4. In erecting an arch of this descriptionit is necessary to make use of a wooden center, as S, to support thework and give it repose while the cement is drying and setting, and thiscenter must be kept in position beneath the arch several weeks to insureapproximately satisfactory work. The inconvenience of this plan isplain, since the presence of the center for so long a time prevents therapid prosecution of the work of building, and after the center isremoved there can be no assurance that the cement has properly set, for,as above stated, wood kept in position for an extended period, subjectto the changes of temperature and of moisture of the air and toaccidentsin general, cannot aiford that absolute repose without which the cementwill not set properly. Such an arch as that shown in Fig. 4 cannotsafely be made of more than four or five foot span and it will be eightinches thick. Because of its numerous joints it is not as strong or ascapable of sustaining as great a load as an arch built according to myinvention with only three inches thickness and twenty feet span.

In my construction of arch, examples of which are shown in Figs. 2 and 3of the drawings, I dispense with the long-continued use in the sameposition of a heavy wooden center over which to build the arch, and inplace thereof construct a permanent solid center 0 q of flanged bricktiles (1., such as shown in Fig. 6, with the temporary aid of a lightwooden frame, as already mentioned. These tiles, which are preferablytwelve inches long and six inches wide by one inch in thickness, arelaid in plaster and cement by using the plaster in small quantitiesplaced only on the upper half of the vertical joints of the flanges, asshown at 9, thelower half of the joint being supplied with cement, asshown at 10. In erecting this center U the small wooden frame is used toobtain the requisite curve and facilitatethe laying of the tiles; butthis frame is immediately removed as soon as the center 0 is completed,as the construction of the center is such and its weight comparativelyso little that it is self-sustaining and the plaster of its joints setsquickly, and hence without liability of imperfect setting. Fifteenminutcs after the center is completed it is in readiness for receivingthe additional arch material on its top, which may be brick, concrete,or cement.

In Fig. 2 I show the arch completed over the center (1 by a course ofcommon tiles 11, preferably laid to break joints with the flanged tilesa of the center C and alayer of concrete, as 12. In Fig. 3 I show thearch completed by a layer of common bricks 7, as presently described. Itis to be understood, of course, that the center 0 may be combined withvarious materials. Such a permanent center as described oifers manyadvantages over the heavy wooden centers,'which, under previous methodsof construction, had to be kept in position for extended periods, andwhich, aside from their inherent disadvantages, are liable to be jarredand moved by the workmen engaged in the building.

The preferred construction of arch, of which my said permanent centerforms an element, is shown in Fig. 3. After the center has been erectedin the manner explained I complete this arch with a course of commonbricks 7, one of which is shown in Fig. 5, which I lay fiat, and not ontheir edges, thus making a joint of little depth at every eight inches,instead of a deep joint at every two inches, as in the arch of Fig. 4.The bricks 7 are laid so as to break joints with the joints of theflanged tiles a, constituting the center 0, which gives strength to thestructure.

The arch shown in Fig. 3 may represent a span of twenty feet betweenwalls, and, notwithstanding it is without beams, it is capable ofsupporting a full floor and great weight.

As the ring or layer 0 of flanged tiles, which is to serve as apermanent center for the tile or brick arch above, is to be and toremain a part of the completed arch structure, it will be seen that theform of my joints 9 10, in view of the materials to be preferablyemployed by me in' making the same, secures not only a sufficient amountof strength to support the material to be placed above it while the archis being constructed, but also adds materially to the strength of thefinished structure. The plaster in parts 9 9 of the joints of the center0 will set very quickly, and at first will be the only means of holdingthe tiles in place. As plaster has a tendency to expand, and as,besides, it is readily disintegrated by dampness, the importance ofusing cement in the lower parts l0 10 of the joints of the center 0 willbe readily recognized, as such cement will not only, after having setproperly, counteract the tendency to expand on the part of the plaster,but will also prevent moisture from underneath reaching such plaster.Constructing, then, thelayer above such center with cement joints,thereby guarding against moisture reaching the plaster from above,itwillbe seen that all the conditions aimed at by meviz., rapidconstruction of a reliable center and strength and durability of thecompleted arch-Will be accomplished with the use of the least amount ofrequired material.

I-Iavingthus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is'

1. In the construction of vaults or arches for ceilings, staircases,&c., of buildings of various descriptions, a permanent solid centercomposed of a single layer of brick tiles, the

joints being made in part of plaster and in part of cement,substantially as set forth.

2. A permanent solid center for vaults or arches of buildings, the sameconsisting of a single layer of brick tiles having the upper parts oftheir joints made of plaster and the lower parts of cement,substantially as set forth.

3. A permanent solid center for vaults or arches of buildings, the sameconsisting of a single course of flanged brick tiles laid in plaster andcement, the plaster laid only between the upper half of the verticaljoints of the flanges and the cement only between the lower half of saidjoints, substantially as set forth.

4. In an arch or vault for ceilings, staircases, &c., the combination,with a permanent solid center composed of a single layer of flangedbrick tiles having their joints made in part of plaster and in part ofcement, as

described, of a layer or layers of suitable arch material, substantiallyas set forth.

5. In an arch or vault for ceilings, staircases, 850., the combination,with a permanent solid center composed of a single layer of brick tilesset in part in plaster and in part in cement, as described, of a singlecourse of common building-bricks laid flat on said permanent center incement, thus making comparatively few joints of little vertical depth,substantially as set forth.

6. In an arch or vault for ceilings, staircases, &c., the combination,with a permanent solid center composed of a layer of flanged brick tilesset in part in plaster and part in cement, as described, of a singlecourse of common building-bricks laid in cement to break joints with thetiles of the center and in a flat position to obtain few joints oflittle vertical depth, substantially as set forth.

'7. An arch or vault for ceilings, staircases, 850., comprising two ormore layers or courses of brick tiles and having its upper and lowerjoints made of cement and its intermediate joints made of plaster,substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 17th day of July, A. D. 1890.

RAFAEL GUASTAVINO.

\Vitnesses:

HUGO KOELKER, J. E. M. BOWEN.

